If you're here, you're likely curious about why we have a collection of jewelry for anxiety and whether this is a gimmick or something that actually helps.
As a mental health brand with a CEO who battles with three major mental illnesses, it was important that our brand combined our passion for beautiful jewelry and self expression, with purpose and meaning.
There are two major disorders we are hoping to help with these rings, but they are not limited to neurodivergent brains (those that work differently than what is considered typical), and you don't have to have either to reap the benefits of our rings.
Let's break down the neurodivergent first.
ADHD - what is it?
ADHD is a disorder associated to inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. We often think of ADHD as someone who can't focus, struggles to sit still, or displays sporadic or spastic behaviours, but there is a whole science to what ADHD is, and how it affects daily life and even the most mundane of tasks.
To a neurotypical person, they may be able to effortlessly sit down, read a book and whip through 12 chapters no problem. To someone with ADHD, they might be able to read, but they likely shift in their seat, play with their skin, stop to look around the room, or struggle to read at all.
Why is this? ADHD needs stimulation - something the brain can use to keep engaged or motivated. This is due to a different dopamine and reward system compared to neurotypical brains. So when you spin, move or play with our rings, the intent is that stimuli goes to the brain to soothe the driver of symptoms like ADHD stimming that can cause tactile habits like nail biting, skin picking, scratching, hair pulling and fidgeting.
Anxiety - the Karen of disorders
Anxiety is a mental disorder affecting over 300 million people globally (diagnosed) that involves persistent and often excessive stress or worry in everyday life.
There are many forms of anxiety. I personally, struggle with high-functioning anxiety, meaning my body can be in a constant state of stress, but I can continue to go on seemingly fine and complete the average day-to-day tasks. However, there are many detrimental affects of living with high stress as most of us are aware. So we want to mitigate these wherever possible, in healthy ways that work best for us.
Anxiety, on the opposite spectrum to ADHD, looks for soothing or coping behaviours rather than stimulating ones. So, the brain looks for ways to calm the mind, divert nervous thoughts or feelings, or help with incoming stressors. This again can come forth in various forms, including tactical responses or even succumbing to overwhelming distress leading to fears, panic attacks, or phobias.
So how do your pieces help with this?
A common therapeutic coping technique, grounding, is a way to divert your brain from certain thoughts and feelings by using your five senses to calm your nervous system.
Focusing on the touch sense, moving our rings can help the wearer cope, but also provide an outlet for those needing stimulation from disorders like ADHD. It also helps us avoid some of the tactile responses that can cause damage to your person, like excessive nail-biting, skin picking or hair pulling.
Anxiety and ADHD can drastically impact our daily lives. Our hope is that these rings help even a little bit with some of those difficult moments, or create new habits that will ease any discomfort.
If you're not a ring lover, check out the two spinning necklaces we have engraved with our daily reminder to stay gldn. For the neurotypical, these rings can provide a sense of play, a way to avoid other habits like clicking a pen, restlessness, or hair twirling,
If you think you might struggle from any of the conditions discussed above, please consider seeking a healthcare practitioner. What works for some, does not work for all. Our hope is that these pieces assist with soothing or stimulation that make each day a little more gldn.
If you have one of our rings and it has helped you, let us know below 👇🏼